Nielsen to Preview 'Extended Screen' in the New Year

Nielsen will provide clients early in 2011 with preview reports for its 'Extended Screen' initiative. The approach adds Internet viewing of TV programs into Nielsen's National People Meter (NPM) television ratings, to demonstrate the impact of online viewing on program measurement.

The firm will distribute these preview reports from the 3 January, containing backdated data from the week of December 6, 2010. Nielsen outlined possible plans to widen the definition of its Extended Screen ratings back in September.

Today the firm has announced that the first phase of the initiative will include TV programs that are served online with identical program content, national commercials and promotions. Nielsen is investigating ways to provide the option to remove or insert digital ads over national promotions in a future release.

In addition, the firm is working on a separate solution for programmers that insert different commercials into the programs they make available online.

On April 30, 2011, Nielsen will release Extended Screen data for March 14 to April 10, 2011. From then on, it will release data in all 'appropriate' Average Commercial Minute (ACM) data streams 15 days after the close of each Monday-Sunday weekly measurement period.

'We are committed to beginning the first 'Extended Screen' reporting in the New Year,' the company said in a client update.

Web site: www.nielsen.com .